General Manager Kurt Angle, drunk on power, had a
blast firing dedicated SmackDown! employees Thursday night … until the one man
who outranks Angle put his foot down.

In a surprise appearance, Mr. McMahon showed
Angle what a berating from the boss feels like — firing GM Angle for his
wheelchair masquerade before placing him back on the active roster of
Superstars. To cap it all off, Mr. McMahon ordered Angle to face Latino Heat
Eddie Guerrero at SummerSlam.

In another huge SummerSlam development, the
Undertaker announced to JBL and the world that he’ll challenge for the WWE
Championship at the Toronto pay-per-view on Aug. 15. He made the declaration
with a chokeslam, leaving JBL unconscious in the middle of the ring. It was a
quick and calamitous turnaround for the WWE Champion, who went from no
SummerSlam opponent to a future date with The Phenom all in the blink of an eye.

Angle’s firing clouded the United States
Championship picture considerably. Before being removed from his duties, Angle
promised the title to Booker T. But it was John Cena who scored an impressive
win over the formidable Luther Reigns on Thursday.

There were quite a few Dudley sightings on
SmackDown!, as Bubba Ray beat Billy Kidman. D-Von came up short against Rey
Mysterio, but Spike won a huge Triple Threat Match against Chavo Guerrero and
Jamie Noble to become the No. 1 Contender for the Cruiserweight Championship.

All that action contributed directly to next
Thursday’s card. Spike will get his shot against good friend Rey Mysterio, and
The Dudleys will try to become 19-time tag champions when they get their rematch
against Paul London and Billy Kidman.

Also announced was a stellar Velocity main event:
Rob Van Dam will take on Rene Dupree this Saturday night.